The Lost Species
by Susano4801
Summary: Sterling Theriault is a relatively normal boy. Or so he thinks. His mother has kept from him who he really is to protect him. She has secrets, secrets that people would kill to have. And they did. But what if they aren't really people? What if Sterling isn't really a human? He must stop the creatures from destroying the people he holds closest.
1. Chapter 1

Sadness

_Sterling_

I had a normal life. Or, at least, relatively normal for Ithaca, New York. I had a mom and only a mom, but some kids aren't that lucky. I lived in a run down apartment near the center of town. That all changed on November 1st, 2013. When _He _came. The Man in Black.

I woke up to the sun shining through my bedroom window and my mom yelling.

"Sterling Percival Theriault! Get down here this instant you are going to be late for school!"

"Coming, Ma!'' I replied. I quickly threw on jeans and a yellow t-shirt and sprinted downstairs.

"Bye!" I yelled as I ran out the door, right into my best friends, Azele and Kris.

"Geez Sterling, watch where you're going!" Kris exclaimed.

"Hey, Silver!" Azele said. I met Azele when I was a baby and our parents lived in a duplex together, she couldn't say Sterling so she started calling me Silver, and we have been friends ever since we met. Kris I met in second grade when we both got expelled for "destroying school property". It's not our fault that they left the keys in the bus and there was a tree in the way, but of course we got kicked out anyway.

"Where are you guys going after school?" Azele's voice shook me out of my reveries.

"I'm going to this new bowling alley called Orbit Bowling or something." Kris replied.

"What about you, Silver?"

"Sleep." I responded.

"Where's that?" Kris asked.

"In my bed."

"Oh that kind of sleep."

"Is there another kind?"

"Well-"

"Boys!" Azele interrupted, "Save your bickering for later! We're here."

"Where?" Kris asked.

"Where do you think, idiot."

"Oh."

Mogador Middle School rose high for a school with 7 stories and about 50 classrooms. We were all in seventh grade and had a lot of the same classes. Me and Kris were kind of the class clowns, but we don't have any friends other than ourselves and Azele. We then walked through the double doors at the entrance.

"Woah." We all said simultaneously. Papers were strewn everywhere and people were hastily stuffing miscellaneous items from their lockers into their backpacks and running off to their homerooms so they wouldn't be late.

"Oh yeah, it's the last day of school!" Kris exclaimed. We walked together to the same homeroom. The next few hours were a blur. No one could concentrate because most people were freaking out about school being out so we didn't get any work done. Not that I'm complaining or anything, but it was kind of annoying. On the way home, we stopped at the bowling alley for Kris. Then, we came to Azele's house and I was left to walk home alone.

_Slam! _I heard a noise coming from my mom's room. I looked at the clock and saw it said _11:47. _I got up and stealthily sneaked around the corner to my mom's room. I saw a black wolf with strange markings all over it boring down on my mom.

"MOM!" I screamed and she woke with a start, only to see a wolf staring intently at her.

"Run!" She yelled back and just as she did, she kicked the wolf off of her and a melee began between the two of them. She was no match for the beast's power though and all I could do was sit there and watch as the white wolf devoured my mom.

"No!" I screamed and rage clouded my vision and a jet of water slammed into the wolf, knocking it off the bed and out the window, but as it did, I saw it change into a man completely black, as if it was the wolf's opposite personality. I assumed I summoned the water in my rage, but how? I didn't have time to figure out. I heard a small _foom and _saw bright orange flames flickering outside.

I could hear the creature climbing back up the stairs. I ran to my room and leaped out the window. The moment I hit the ground, pain flared up my leg and I assumed that I had broken it, but I had to keep moving. I hopped into our garage and took out two baseball bats. Then I went inside and got the car keys, started the car, and drove away using one foot, hoping to outspeed the thing. I stopped the car when I assumed that I was safe, because I couldn't hear the creature loping

behind me.

Then, out of nowhere, the creature, in man form, grabbed me and hoisted me up by my neck. I imagined he could smell my fear, being part wolf. I struggled, desperately trying to get away and get my bat so I could fight this thing with even a slight chance of defeating it. I managed to kick it in the stomach and it recoiled, doubling over and wheezing. I didn't waste a moment and grabbed both of the bats, charging the man. I swung both bats straight at his head. The man, still being dazed, didn't have time to react and I could hear his skull shatter. He screamed in pain and collapsed, but somehow, he sat straight up and its flattened head regained its shape. It spoke with a deep, rasping voice.

"You may have won this time, but you won't when I bring my brethren with me to destroy you!" Then he vanished and I saw another man, one who looked strangely familiar, rushing towards me. Then I blacked out.


	2. Chapter 2

Anger

_Sterling_

In my dreams, I saw myself walking home yesterday, hearing rustling and seeing a bush move. I walked over just as a white tail disappeared into the forest. Then I was back in my house, looking at the same wolf that I had seen in the forest boring down on my mother.

I awoke to the sun shining in my face and I was in a bed somewhere I didn't recognize.

"Sterling." A voice said and I turned my head. Sitting there was a man who looked almost exactly like me, with long gold hair and bright silver eyes. He was the man I saw yesterday, the one who came after the Man in Black left. He snapped his fingers in front of my face and I jumped, startled.

"If you're done staring at me, then I can explain who I am." He said. I blushed in embarrassment and he continued.

"I am your uncle and your mother's brother, Sebastian Theriault." He stated simply. I blinked, trying to comprehend the information.

"Is my mom really dead?" I croaked, tears starting to form in my eyes. My throat was parched from not talking for a long time. He looked down and I saw tears glistening on his cheeks.

"I'm sorry Sterling, I really am, but there is nothing we can do for her." He replied.

"We could avenge her." I said, my rage for the Man in Black building, "We could go after the creature who killed her."

"I know the feeling of wanting revenge, as I have experienced it for the same reason you have, but we can't be hasty." He replied, "I assume that you want to know just who or what took your mother's life, so I will tell you everything. Then you must heal, and we must train."

"The creature who attacked your mother was of an alien race called the Dhârkalen. We fought in a war with them on Earth millions of years ago."

"We being humans?" I asked, confused.

"No, we are a species that aren't human, we only look, talk, and act like them. No one knows the actual name of our species, therefore we are called the Lost Species. As far as I know, you and I are the only ones left of the Lost Species. We have enhanced physical strength, reflexes, endurance, and healing speed. The Dhârkalen know of our existence and are trying to destroy us, trying to wipe out our species for fear that we will someday destroy their power. They know we are more powerful than them and that if we get enough of our kind, we could have the power to destroy them."

"If we are more powerful than them, then why did we lose the war?"

"We may have had power, but they had numbers almost four times the number of our people. We had absolutely no chance at survival. Only our family, the Theriaults, survived."

"Did that Dhârkalen person have a name?"

"That was not an actual Dhârkalen person, but rather a human named Damion Vaughn possessed by a Dhârk spirit, the leader of the Dhârkalen, Akuro. I overheard Akuro talking with

some Dhârkalen warriors that said that they had a boy named Kris Goldsmith." I gasped, not believing what I was hearing. Kris couldn't have been captured, could he?

"Do you know this Kris?" My uncle asked.

"Yes," I replied sadly, "He is my best friend."

"Don't worry Sterling, the Dhârkalen wouldn't kill him, they will most likely use him as bait, and when they're not looking, figuratively speaking, we can grab Kris and get out of there." That didn't really make me feel better, but at least there was hope.

"Good night, Sterling" My uncle said as I felt my eyes closing. And with that, I fell asleep wondering how my life got so messed up in only one night.


	3. Chapter 3

Concern

Azele

I woke up to my alarm clock blaring. _Argh, _I thought, _I forgot the turn that off._ Figuring that I might as well get up, I slipped out of bed and went downstairs and outside to get the paper. When I got back I looked at the front page and my heart crawled into my throat. There was a picture of a burnt down house and the caption said

The house of Marcie and Sterling Theriault was found burnt down to the ground. Only one confirmed body and it appears to be the body of the mother. The car is missing, and the windows are shattered, but still no sign of the missing Sterling Theriault. Please contact us at (607) 444-4444 if you find any trace of Sterling Theriault.

I knew what I needed to do. I needed to find Sterling before it was too late, and I knew exactly who would know where he was.

I asked my parents to drive me to Sterling's Uncle Sebastian's house just outside of Ithaca, in Lansing. He was the only person I could think of that would have any clues of Sterling's whereabouts, besides Sterling himself, of course. When I got there I noticed something peculiar. There was a silver minivan outside in the driveway and I knew it wasn't Sebastian's. I walked inside and saw Sebastian reading peacefully on his lounge chair.

"Sebastian?" I asked. He looked up and smiled when he saw me.

"Hello, Azele." He said. "I assume you are here for clues about Sterling." I nodded and he pointed in the direction of what I assumed was the guest room. I raced in and saw Sterling laying there, his eyes closed. _He looks horrible! _I thought. His face was pale and he had cuts all over his arms and face. His body looked red and raw, and his left leg was kind of bent at a funny angle. He still looked cute in my eyes, but I didn't know if he would recover from whatever happened.

"Silver?" I asked quietly, unable to comprehend that this was my friend. The friend that I had so many adventures with and was always so upbeat. His eyes opened weakly and he looked up at me.

"Azele?" He said, his voice rasping. I cried out and ran over to hug him, but pulled away once he winced in pain.

"What happened?" I asked, almost afraid to find out. His eyes sparkled with tears and he struggled to tell me.

"Big while wolf man, Dhârk monster. Killed mom and burned the house, then ran away, taking Kris from bowling alley."

"What!?" I cried and it took me a few seconds to digest what he had said. "Kris is gone?"

"Not gone." He said firmly. "Taken. And we're going to take him back."

"But...what are the Dhârk things you were talking about earlier?" I asked.

"Apparently, they are aliens and I am part of this species that no one knows what it's called, so it's just called the Lost Species. My uncle and I are the only members of the Lost Species left and the Dhârkalen are trying to kill us." I gasped, my eyes widening. All this time my best friend, the one I have known since birth, was from a different species than humans, the Lost Species. He laid back, as if expecting me to run away from him, tell the government, and never be his friend again. Instead, I went up to him and hugged him loosely, not wanting to hurt him.

"Don't worry Sterling, I will always be there for you." He looked up at me gratefully just as a crash resonated around the house. We jumped up and ran outside to see a man with markings all over himself that gave me chills up my spine. Sebastian was standing there in a fighting stance, ready to fight the threat. He lunged and the man threw him into the woods with a swipe of his hand.

"No!" I yelled and lunged at the man. He turned to look at me, but just as he did, I brought my hand down on his throat. He flew backwards and I started to run towards where I saw Sebastian go.

"Azele!" Sterling yelled and I turned around, just as the man materialized behind me. He grabbed me by my neck and started running and choking me at the same time. The man ran fast and I knew that there was no way Sterling would be able to catch up with us. As Sterling faded into the distance, I saw a look of determination come into his eyes and I thought, _oh no._


	4. Chapter 4

Determination

Sterling

As Azele sped off into the distance, I knew I couldn't let her go. She was the only thing I had left besides Uncle Sebastian, but he might not be around much longer. I ran after her as fast as I could, but I could still see that I was falling behind.

I ran as fast as I could, my legs seemed to move at unhuman rates and the trees were landscape was zooming by as I ran. I then realized that I was gaining on the man, running faster that any human could have. I ran in front of the man and stopped, my arm outstretched and my fist in front of it. The man ran right into it and tumbled backwards, Azele still in his arms.

I suddenly felt a searing pain in my whole body and felt as if my bones were rearranging themselves. When the pain cleared, I knew that something was different, my eyesight was much sharper and my body felt smaller and lighter. I looked at myself and nearly screamed, which would have been very hard to do in my form. I was a golden eagle the size if a labrador retriever. I flapped my wings experimentally and flew up into the sky.

I landed with a painful crunch and I looked over my shoulder to see if the man and Azele were still there. I saw that they were still on the ground, both of them unconscious. I turned back into a human and ran over to them. I grabbed Azele away from the Dhârkalen's clutches. I took out the knife my uncle gave me to protect my self, but I knew I couldn't kill him, I'm not a killer, at least not yet. So I left him there, not being able to kill him and ran back with Azele's unconscious body on my back.

When he got back, he saw his uncle standing there, waiting for him.

"Hi." I said nonchalantly. He raised an eyebrow at me, but said nothing. I dragged Azele inside and laid her on the bed I was sleeping in before. Then, I went outside and asked Uncle Sebastian.

"How did I do those things?"

"What things?" He said.

"Like how did I control the water, run at inhuman speeds and suddenly grow wings?"

"Those are your powers, each member of the lost species ever recorded has four or less. Your mother had three, and I had two." He replied.

"What were they?"

"You mother's were control over air, invisibility, and the ability to breathe underwater."

"And yours?" I persisted.

"Mine are called seismic waves, which allows me to cause me to create small earthquakes, and anti-gravity. We do not yet know if superspeed, hydrokinesis, and transformation are your only powers, but we will find out soon enough." He replied.

"But how do you find out if you have no other powers?" I asked, confused.

"There will usually be a sign, a symbol that was given to you at birth will appear somewhere in your path, not necessarily right in front of you."

"But how can it be in your path if it's not right in front of you?"

"It will be in your path of fate, not a physical path, but the symbol, of course, will be physical."

I went inside, all of my questions being answered for now, to check on Azele. She was laying there with blood dripping down her face. I began to pace and worry. What if she never wakes up? What will I do then? I will have no friends, only my Uncle Sebastian that I haven't known for very long time. Then what? Fight a war with two people or just try to survive with no free time at all, just training. I know that I need to train anyway, but this would be nonstop training to prepare for the war ahead. I will need to prepare anyway, but I won't need to train so vigorously. Also the thought of her gone swirled into my mind. She was my only companion besides my mom until second grade, when I met Kris. I knew that even if she dies, as much as I would hate it, I will need to move on and search for Kris.

Suddenly, her eyes fluttered open, I cried out, ran to her and hugged her tight, never wanting to let her go, for fear that I will never see her again.

"I thought I had lost you!" I sobbed, still hugging her. She didn't answer, her eyes looked confused for a second, then cleared up, then confused again.

"What's wrong?" I asked her, worried that she might have amnesia.

"How did you catch up?"

"Guess." I replied with a grin.

"You are so annoying sometimes." She stated and I smiled.

"And I plan to keep it that way." I said.

"Okay, you have super speed?" She guessed.

"DING, DING, DING! We have a winner!" I exclaimed, making her jump.

"Really?" She asked hesitant as if she thought that I was messing with her, which I guess I kind of was.

"Yep! I can also fly!" I said with a grin.

"Lucky." She grumbled, pouting.

"Now, now. The good news is that if you're good, I can let you ride on my back!" I said enthusiastically.

"Oh shut up." She said and I laughed.

"So how are we going to save Kris?" She asked quietly, darkening the mood significantly. We fell asleep holding hands, contemplating the almost impossible question.


	5. Chapter 5

Courage

Azele

When I awoke, Sterling was gone and I was alone. I slipped out of bed and went into the kitchen to eat something. I heard a crash coming from outside and immediately jumped up and went outside.

"Come on, Sterling. You have to control it!" Sebastian yelled over the noise of Sterling's difficulties.

"I'm trying!" Sterling replied. Water was swirling around, unintentionally breaking things. I gaped and asked.

"How are you doing that?" I asked in awe.

"It's one of my powers, hydrokinesis. I can control water." He said.

"I kind of guessed that." I said. He pouted and I laughed. He sent a stream of water into my face.

"Wonderful!" Sterling's uncle exclaimed and we both laughed. It so felt good to get almost back to normal, that I almost forgot about Kris being captured.

"When are we going to go save Kris?" I asked.

"Once Sterling is done training we will go." Sebastian replied.

"I'm almost done right?" Sterling said.

"Yes, we just need you to have a little more control over water, and learn how to use a sword to defend yourself. It might take a bit of time, but we should go in less than a week. Then we can go." Sterling's uncle said.

"Really?" We said in unison, anticipation of finding and getting Kris back growing.

The next morning, we were ready to go. Sterling had stayed up all night, almost mastering hydrokinesis and how to use a sword, and could sometimes beat Sebastian. We had no car, as it had been destroyed in the fight yesterday, so we had to walk. We had no idea where the Dhârkalen's base was, so we had to just wander around, looking for clues about their whereabouts.

"Look!" Sterling exclaimed, pointing to a small, empty crater that my captor had been in. There was a thin trail of footsteps leading from the crater. How the giant man managed to make such small footsteps was beyond me. Nevertheless, we still had to follow it. We kept along the path until we could see no more and could walk no more.

"Why don't we set up camp here?" Sebastian suggested. We were so exhausted that we didn't argue, we just set up the tents as fast as we could, and fell asleep.

_In my dream, I saw a huge chasm with bubbling lava in it. I looked around and saw that Kris was there with us and a Dhârkalen was standing by the chasm with a man held up by the throat. The man looked amazingly familiar, almost like I've known him my whole life. The Dharkalen turned and saw us on the shadows._

_ "Hello visitors. Come to enjoy some of my hospitality?" He asked in a strange, rasping voice that sent shivers up my spine._

_ "Put a sock in it, Akuro. We don't have time for this." Sterling growled and used his powers to levitate a chunk of earth at Akuro. He blocked it with his hand, but staggered back, dropping the man who lay there, unmoving._

_ "Pull that man over to the side. My uncle and I will handle him" We did what he asked and moved the man towards the exit. _

"_You will die, Chentirlians!" Akuro growled. Right after he said that, I heard a grunt of pain and turned just in time to see Sebastian fly into a wall. We ran over to him and told him to lay still. I turned back to help in the fight, only to see Akuro's sword go right through Sterling and out his back._

_ "No!" I yelled. I tried to run to his aid, but something was holding me back, Almost as if the air itself was keeping us away. Sterling stumbled to the edge of the cliff and Akuro stalked towards him. He brought his foot up and kicked outwards, sending Sterling flying backwards into the wall. Just before he hit, as the last act of his life, he hurled his sword like a throwing knife and it sunk into Akuro's body. Then Sterling plummeted towards the lava below him._

We woke up later that morning morning, hoping to get some progress towards or goal. I tried to act normal around Sterling, but I don't think I was succeeding. He kept glancing my way, looking at me weirdly, but he didn't ask about it, which I was grateful for. We didn't have any more supplies and hadn't had breakfast, so we were starving. It wasn't long until we found a long, abandoned road. We still had money, so we followed the road, hoping to find our way to a restaurant somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

"Yes!" Sebastian yelled suddenly, making me and Sterling jump in surprise. He ran forward, and we had to sprint to catch up.

"Calm down uncle." Sterling said. "It's only a restaurant."

"That's why I'm excited!" Sebastian yelled in exasperation.

"Fine, whatever." Sterling replied. When we got closer we could only just make out what it said on the sign.

"The Dark Diner" Sterling read. "That's a weird, but fitting name for a restaurant." The restaurant was about two stories tall and colored black and grey. It looked kind of abandoned, but we walked in anyway.

"Hello." A voice said and we whirled around. A man in a black jacket stood there in the doorway. "Can I help you?"

"We were just looking for something to eat." Sebastian said. "We were wondering if you had anything to offer us."

"Yes, we do. If you'd just follow me, I could find you a table." The man replied.

"Is there much business around here?" Sebastian asked, trying to make small talk.

"Not really. As you can plainly see, this road is abandoned and you are the first customers in a while" The man answered.

"Why do you keep the place open then?" Sebastian asked.

"Well, this is the only way my family makes money." The man said. "Here is your table. The food will be out shortly."

"Thank you." We said in unison. We lowered our voices so the workers couldn't hear us talking about our journey.

"Where should we go after this, the footsteps are gone?" I asked Sebastian.

"We should maybe keep going the way the footsteps were going when they disappeared, which was East." He replied.

"What if where the footsteps stopped, there was a secret entrance to their base." Sterling suggested.

"That may be, but we looked around for a while, and there was nothing there."

"Maybe there was a secret way to open it?"

"I don't know, but we're not going back there until we know how to open it if there is an entrance there."

"Fine."

"Here is your food." The waiter said as he came in.

"Thank you, but we never ordered, how did you know what we wanted?" Sebastian asked, suspicious.

"We did some research, so we knew what you usually ordered." The waiter replied.

"Why would you do that?" Sebastian queried.

"So we don't bother you more than we have to." The waiter responded, walking away. We dug in, feeling a bit suspicious. When we had finished and paid, we tried to walk out the door, keyword _tried_. We were stopped by the waiter standing in the doorway like a guard.

"Hi?" Sterling asked uncertainly

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you past." The waiter said with a sadness in his voice that might have been fake, or might have been real.

"Why not?" I asked, frustrated

"Because, I'm here to exterminate you!" And with that, he leaped at us. Sterling stepped in front and backhanded the man and his head snapped to the left, but he just swept Sterling aside and kept coming, but not at me, at Sebastian. Sebastian leaped to the side, slashing at the man with a sword, but was too slow, as the sword missed and the man barreled past.

Sterling had gotten up just as I punched the man in the face and charged the man. The man lept into the air, and in midair, he changed into a white wolf with markings all over it. Sterling slid under it and shoved his now drawn sword into its underside. The wolf yowled in pain and advanced on Sterling, who was now defenceless. Sterling just stood there in a fighting stance and at the last moment sidestepped, letting the wolf barrel face first into the wall behind him.

The wolf got up at inhuman speeds and pounced on Sterling, biting his shoulder.

"Silver!" I yelled and ran at the beast, but as I did, Sterling shoved the wolf off his shoulder, picked up his sword in his left hand, and stabbed the beast in the heart, who disappeared in a puff of

black smoke that left black powder on the ground. Sterling stumbled and collapsed as Sebastian and I ran towards him, my heart pounding. We knelt next to him and Sebastian put his ear to Sterling's chest.

"He's still alive, he just needs to rest." Relief flooded through me and we picked him up and dragged him to the couch. Sebastian then went into the office and when he came out he said.

"We need to go to Indiana."

"Why?" I asked. He showed me a map and replied.

"It says that's where the base of the Dhârkalen's base is."


	6. Chapter 6

Sacrifice

Sterling

My shoulder hurt, my head hurt, and my everything hurt. I couldn't remember anything that had happened yesterday. I couldn't remember where I was. I sure as heck couldn't remember what the weird black dust on the floor was, but I was sure all of that was important. My head was spinning from so many questions that I didn't see Azele come in to see me sitting up. She stumbled back in surprise, and when she recovered from her shock, she ran up and gave me a bone-shattering hug and a kiss on the lips. I froze in shock, then relaxed and went with it. When she pulled away, she punched me in my non injured shoulder.

"You idiot!" She exclaimed. "I thought you were dead!" Tears dripped down her cheeks as I looked at her guiltily. I looked at the floor, thinking about my mom's death, and what I might have put Azele through if I had died. I felt a comforting hand on my shoulder. i looked up and saw Azele with a reassuring look on her face.

"Don't worry Silver, we'll avenge your mom and get Kris back." She said. I looked at her gratefully, but partly in awe. She always seemed to know what I was thinking when I didn't even say it. Also, she just got over what she was crying about in seconds, almost as if her tears had just dried up.

"Where am I?" I asked. She looked at me in concern and replied.

"We are in a Dhârkalen Diner, where we just saw a Dhârkalen." Images flashed in my head, images of a white Dhârkalen wolf pouncing, a searing pain in my shoulder, my sword going through the Dhârkalen's heart, and blackness. I fell off my bed and onto the floor. I shook my head to clear the images and stood back up shakily.

":Sterling?" Azele asked uncertainly.

"Yes?" I replied.

"What happened?"

"I just remembered what happened yesterday." I responded. "Where are we going now?"

"Sebastian found a map that said that the Dhârkalen's base is in Indiana."

"Where in Indiana?"

"Fort Wayne."

"Ok." I knew where that was, it was in northeast Indiana and pretty populous. "When are we leaving?"

"Right now." I groaned and asked.

"Where are we?"

"Columbus, Ohio." That was good, we are only about 200 miles away from our destination. We should get there in about 4 days. Of course, that's if there are no setbacks, which I know there will be.

"Their base will most likely be underground, so we should watch out for lava." I said. Azele stiffened and I looked at her weirdly.

"What's wrong?" I asked

"Nothing." She replied, still staring ahead

"Azele?" Her head whipped around to look at me.

"What?" She snapped.

"Um." I stammered. "What's wrong, seriously?" She sighed.

"I had a vision." She answered.

"What do you mean?"

"I had a vision, like one of what might have been real life, in a dream."

"What happened in it?" I asked.

"I don't want to talk about it." I bit my lip, but didn't push her further. When we were ready to leave, I went over to Uncle Sebastian.

"What happened while I was out?" I asked.

"Well, I found a map that-"

"I heard about that from Azele, but was there anything else?"

"No, not really. All that we found out about the base is that it was in Fort Wayne." He responded. "But there is a key to go into the base. The Dhârkalen that we fought had been banished and didn't have a key.."

"If he had been banished, then why did he follow orders to kill us?" I asked.

"We think that maybe he thought that by killing us, he might have been let back into the base." My uncle answered.

"Oh, do you think that they would have let him back in?"

"The Dhârkalen are cold and unforgiving, so they never would have let him back in even if he had saved their entire species."

"Geez, someone needs a chill pill." I responded. A smile tugged on his lips.

"Who is this someone, the whole race of Dhârkalen? But have relatively good reason to be wary. We are powerful and if we get into their base, it could mean the end of them." He informed me. "Lets go." We started walking in the direction of Fort Wayne. We had no trouble the first three days, but as we neared the city, I began to feel uneasy.

"Where do you think they are?" I asked Uncle Sebastian.

"I have a feeling they will be under one of the tallest building in the city, most likely the One Summit Square." He replied. As we walked there we saw a ton of newspapers with our pictures on them saying,

Sterling Theriault and Azele Thorn are nowhere to be found in their hometown of Ithaca, New York. The house of Sterling was found burned down last week and Azele's house still stands. Sterling was orphaned last week when his house burned

down and his mother died, while Azele's parents are searching everywhere for their lost daughter. If you have any information on the missing children, please contact us at (607) 444-4444. Thank you.

I hope no one recognizes us and that we were the kids from the paper, but that was the least of our worries. As we came up to the building, I could see the shadows from the other buildings in the city. The 27 stories rose tall and proud as the white sides provided a regal air to the design. We snuck around to the back and saw the entrance to what we presumed was the basement. We opened the door and walked inside. The air was dank and humid with the smell

of dirt all around us. As we went downward, I could feel the air start to heat up and the smell of lava burned my nose. Just then, the wall behind us started glowing.

"Guys!" I yelled, trying to get their attention. They turned to see the wall with a glowing blue light coming from a symbol in the wall. Uncle Sebastian growled.

"That's the mark of the Dhârkalen. I could never forget it after it was seared into my skull on the day my parents died." He said bitterly

"If that's the sign of the Dhârkalen, then that must be where the base is and where Kris is being held!" Azele exclaimed. "We have to go in!"

My uncle replied, "Of course we will, we just need to scout out the place to see if we are being followed." So each of us split up, looking for anyone or anything that was following us. When none of us were successful, we met up at the mark. Uncle Sebastian put his hand on the mark and a small door slid to the side as we walked through. The inside was like nothing I'd ever seen before. Red dirt and stone curved up into arches as skulls lined the hallways. We stayed along the hall and looked for what we thought would be a Dhârkalen jail.

We finally came to a hellway lined with red bars replacing the skulls. There were all sorts of different beings in the cells, Animals, aliens, and in the last cell was a single human. _Kris! _I thought as we rushed over. The man looked up and his eyes brightened.

"Azele, Sterling, Sebastian?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yes it's us, what did they do to you?" Azele questioned cautiously, not wanting to bring forth any bad memories. Kris's face darkened and he told us what had happened to him in this hell on earth. I started to tremble in rage as he got farther and farther into his story. Once he had finished, I was furious. The ground started to rumble, but not in an earthquake. The ground shot up and created a tunnel for Kris to walk through. Everyone stared at me in disbelief as I stared at the mound of dirt that was behind Kris.

"Sterling?" Kris asked, glaring at me. "What have you not told me?" I sighed and explained everything that had happened while he was gone. He stared at me in shock and I was afraid that I had lost my best friend.

Then he said, "You can fly, awesome! Hey, do you think that you could carry me while you go on a flight?" I chuckled.

"Well get in line then." Azele glared at me and both me and Kris laughed. Kris walked through the hole that I had made and we all hugged. When I turned around, I saw my uncle looking at me with his mouth open.

"What?" I asked, looking at him weirdly.

"Y-y-y-you used earth." He stuttered.

I replied, "Yes, why is that such a surprise." He continued looking at me with his mouth open.

"E-el-lemental m-manipulation." He said. "You are the first person to control this power in over 100 years."

"What does that mean? I mean, what does it do?" I asked him.

"It means you have control over water, earth, fire, and air." My jaw hit the floor as I looked at him in disbelief. I couldn't be that powerful, right?

"We should go." Azele said. So we kept going along the wall, not making a sound. As we neared the exit, we could see Akuro torturing someone, someone that looked familiar, but I definitely haven't met him before. We walked in the shadows to the edge of a 40 foot chasm

filled with lava, where the man was being tortured. I planned to use my powers to help free the man from the fiend, but Akuro turned around to see us there in the shadows.

"Ah, my visitors. Come to enjoy some of my hospitality?" He asked in his rasping voice that sent chills up my spine.

"Put a sock in it, Akuro. We don't have time for this." I said and used my powers to levitate the earth and send it right at his face. He put his hand up to block it and staggered back, dropping the man like a ragdoll.

"Pull that man over to the side." I told Kris and Azele. My uncle and I will handle him." They did as they were told and my uncle and I charged Akuro. I drew my sword at the last second, sliding under Akuro as he jumped over a slash from Uncle Sebastian. I stood up and jabbed at Akuro, only to find it stopped by a blade made of black metal.

"You will die, Lyridians!" Akuro yelled and slashed at me. _Lyridians? I thought._ I jumped back and rolled to the side as Akuro's blade cleaved downwards to my head. I used the earth to push Akuro back and scanned the battlefield. I saw Kris and Azele tending Uncle Sebastian, as he had been smashed against the wall. Rage powered adrenaline coursed through me as I stepped to meet Akuro alone. My blade met his in a shower of sparks and we kept slashing and parrying repeatedly until I made my mistake. I jabbed at his stomach and he hit my hand with the butt of his sword. I instinctively dropped

my sword and rolled to get out of the way of his sword slashing. I picked up my sword as he stabbed me through my stomach.

"No!" I heard a voice yell, but I was in so much pain I couldn't make out who it was. I used what was left of my strength to use the air and make a ring around me and Akuro so the others wouldn't get hurt. Akuro pushed me backwards to the edge of the cliff. His mouth morphed into a malicious grin as he kicked me in the chest and I went flying backwards into the wall. I threw my sword as I flew through the air and watched in satisfaction when it went through his chest and he dropped to the ground. The last thing I saw was my friends faces of horror as I fell towards the lava below.


	7. Chapter 7

Grief

Azele

I watched in horror as my best friend plunged into the smoking lava below him, exactly like in my dream. I saw him close his eyes as he tumbled into the sea of fire.

"No." My voice was barely a whisper as I tried to comprehend that my best friend was gone, just like that. I wanted to avenge his death, make his murderer pay, but Sterling had already done that for me. Akuro lay on the ground, blood staining his clothes as he gasped for breath.

"I am going to kill him slowly." I growled menacingly. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and when I looked into Kris's hazel eyes, all I saw was sadness.

"Azele, I'm sorry, but there's nothing more we can do for Sterling. He's already gone and Akuro is already dying." I looked at him and realized that he was right, but my rage was unquenchable. I started trembling in anger while silent sobs racked my body. I felt my fingers getting warmer and power flowing through my body. All I saw was red as I let loose a horrible scream and all of that power was purged from my body in a whirlwind of red and orange flames. The flames sunk into Akuro's body and lit his clothes on fire, flickering along his black jacket. Akuro let out a scream of pain as the flames ran along his body.

Then, the screaming stopped. A dark shadow rose from the body and turned to face us. It was a black mouth and only a mouth, with wisps of darkness surrounding it. I figured that this was Akuro's true form, due to the fact that it had rose out of the body. It laughed maniacally and flew away, dark wisps of smoke trailing behind it. As soon as Akuro had left, the flames were sucked into the body and as I watched, the wound in it's chest began to heal and the man sat bolt upright. He stumbled over to where we were.

"Sebastian? What are you doing here, and where is here." He asked, looking around, confusion written all over his face.

"I came to save you, old friend." Sebastian replied, giving the man a hug. "As for where we are, we are in the Dhârkalen's base."

"Ah, so those brutes took me. I expected to remember being taken, but alas, I can not." The man stated.

"Why Damion Vaughn, you haven't changed at all." Sebastian thought aloud. "Always so clueless and having a horrible memory."

I interrupted, "Can you guys catch up later, we really need to get out of here before we are caught." So we rushed out and as we went, my eyes caught something shining on the ground. Sterling's sword was still laying there, so I took it, my only reminder of him and I promised myself I would never let it go.

We walked into our makeshift camp and Damion and Sebastian walked away, talking. I on the other hand, was left with the man we rescued from Akuro.

"Hi." I said awkwardly. "What's your name?" He turned to face me with wide eyes, gold just like mine.

"My name is Cyrus Thorn. I am one of the Lost Species, as are you." He replied, looking me straight in the eyes. _Cyrus Thorn._ I thought, _Where have I heard that name before. _I wanted to ask him if I knew him, but I asked a different question.

"What do you mean I'm part of the Lost Species?" He looked at me like he thought I had gone crazy, which I probably had.

"You made fire fly out of your hands and into Akuro. How else could you have done it?" He replied, rolling his eyes. Then I realized where I knew him from. The brown hair, the gold eyes, and the inexplicable urge to always roll your eyes. He was my brother. I tackled him in a hug and we fell to the ground.

"What are you doing?" Cyrus asked carefully. His eyes darted back and forth, as if looking for an escape route.

"You are my brother, my name is Azele Thorn. That's why both of us are part of the Lost Species." I answered, grinning madly. His eyes widened and he pulled me into a bone crushing hug.

"They told me that you were dead!" He exclaimed, still hugging me.

"Well, I'm pretty far from dead." I grinned, but it quickly vanished when I thought about Sterling who was very far from alive.

"What are we going to do about Akuro?" I asked. "Hunt him down?" He looked at me strangely before realization dawned in his eyes.

"You want to avenge your friend, don't you?" He asked sadly.

"Of course!" I exclaimed. "Why else would I want him dead!" He rolled his eyes at me in exasperation.

"Maybe because if you don't he will kill you?" He reasoned. I grumbled about how annoying boys were and stalked back towards camp in search of Sebastian.


	8. Chapter 8

Pain

Theodor

I was sitting at the bottom of a pool of lava, as I had for God knows how long. I felt a burning sensation, as if I were on fire, which would make sense. The only difference was that I felt no pain, only the feeling of burning in lava and warmth. I didn't dare open my eyes for fear that they would be seared out of my face. I knew I needed to get out, that it was time, but how was the question. I could try to swim, but that probably wouldn't work, seeing as it was molten rock. But hey, it was my only chance.

I kicked out with my feet, trying to find the edge of the pit, and somehow, it worked! I finally found the wall and began under lava scaling it. When I finally reached the top, I saw something that I thought that I would never see. Some lady was standing there, glaring at me who who knows what reason. She offered her hand to me and I took it, stood up and looked at her. She glared at me some more and I sent her a questioning look..

"Foolish child. Why did you not save me when you had the chance." She said. "You were the only one who could have, but you just stood there as I got devoured. The Dharkalen took me in and saved me, much more than you have done for me in your entire life. I am ashamed to call you my son." I looked at the woman who claimed to be my mother. If she was who she said she was, then the women who had cared for me, loved me, and helped me survive was telling me that she was ashamed to call me her son.

Scenes flashed in front of my eyes as I remembered her death. I thought she might be lying, that maybe deep down, she still cared about me, but I knew that was impossible. I just stood there as the wolf tore her to pieces and left her there to die. I was no son, I was as much of a murderer as Akuro. I looked at her helplessly and she returned it with a look of disgust. I felt cold metal shackles wrap around my wrists as I looked down and thought about all of my wrongdoings, both to her and other people. I was determined to not break under almost any torture Akuro could concoct, but little did I know what was in store for me.

I was taken deep into their torture chambers, past screaming humans, shrieking animals, and dead skeletons, almost all of which looked mutated in some way shape or form. There were people with five limbs, animals with mouths that stretched almost to their behind, and some that were completely unrecognizable. The dank air reeked of rotting corpses and burnt flesh. The blood stained soil crunched under my feet as my mother led me to a large chamber with some metal-like substance coating the bars. As soon as I walked in, I felt weak, as if all of the energy had drained out of me instantaneously. My mom and the Dhârkalen guards shoved me to the ground and I felt some kind of glass pierce my side and blood started flowing freely.

"Don't get too comfortable, Akuro will be down for you later _son_." My mother said as if son was the worst insult that she could think of. She left me in the cell, wallowing in my shame until I fell asleep.

"Hello Theodor Stryker, long time no see.." The rasping voice of Akuro roused me from my sleep. _That's right, my name is _Theodor Stryker_._ I thought. I opened my eyes to see my

mother with completely black eyes staring back at me. My eyes widened when I figured out that Akuro had saved my mother by possessing her. She stalked towards me menacingly.

"You have no idea how long I have wanted to do this." He said and smiled sadistically. He grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and led me to what I assumed was the torture chamber. Akuro shoved me into a chair and chained me in.

"First, we need to change your look so no one recognizes you." He said, still grinning maniacally. A Dhârkalen came in with a black paste in a bottle. Akuro squirted some into his hands and started towards me. The moment the paste touched my hair, I felt as if my head was on fire and my scalp was burning away. I heard someone screaming and I later realized that it was me. when he took his hand off, the burning went away, but the pain still lingered. Akuro went over to his "box of tricks" and took out a long syringe.

"Now to change your eye color." He leaned over me and plunged the tip of the syringe into my eye. I fought the urge to turn away, as that would make the unbearable pain worsen drastically. I felt some liquid expanding my eye and just when I felt as if it would burst, Akuro pulled the syringe away.

"There, I'm done with your facial features, would you like to have a look?" He pulled out a mirror and I looked into it. My hair was a deep purple and black mix with streaks of yellow and grey. My once silver eyes now held a unnatural yellow color, less tan than the gold was. Not one of my friends would recognize me, I looked like a mutant human who had been dragged through a landfill. Akuro whispered to a Dhârkalen and the Dhârkalen ran away with excitement on his face.

"Wait there, the real pain is coming." As if I could go anywhere, I was tied down. Akuro walked away with a cruel smile on his face, and disappeared from my view. I Heard a rumbling coming from above me and I saw three silver spires descending onto me. They stopped with a crash and started humming as dark energy started forming into a ball between the three spires. The black swirling mass was getting larger, and so was my fear, what if they meant to kill me, I would never see my friends, never be able to apologize to my mom about her "death", and never be able to defeat the Dhârkalen from destroying earth, my friends, my family, and the entire human population.

"The humming stopped and the dark mass retracted, but then burst apart in a whirlwind of power and energy. It formed a cocoon around me and started expanding into me. The pain I felt was indescribable. I felt as if my molecules were splitting apart and rearranging themselves into a different shape, then back again. I arched my back in agony and screamed a blood-curdling scream. Akuro's face appeared on a screen in front of me and smiled.

"I hope you are enjoying your time in our mutation chamber. It is specifically designed to make you feel pain beyond anything and mutate you so that you are close to death and nothing is holding you back." I couldn't respond because of the blinding pain that racked my body as I mutated into an unrecognizable form. I doubted that even if I did get out, my friends wouldn't be able to recognize me, between the mutation and the different hair and eyes. _I don't even know who they are._ I thought sadly_ If they're even still alive._ The mutation lasted for at least an hour, and when it was done, I fell to the ground from my suspended bindings. About seven Dhârkalen stalked over to me and roughly picked me up and dragged me back to my cell. Even after the mutation, I could still feel my molecules rearranging themselves inside my body.

I was at the Dhârkalen's base for who knows how long, each day enduring the pain of the mutation and feeling them arrange themselves back to their original form due to the healing speed of the Lost Species. Each day I remembered less, until I couldn't even remember my

name, much less my friends. I promised myself that today was the day, the day that I escaped from this hell and back into the world.

I used all of my strength until I was able to make a hole big enough for me to walk through, despite the power-suppressing metal in the bars of the cell. I walked through and as fast as I could, turned into an eagle and flew through the Dhârkalen's base. I felt a searing pain in my shoulder and I went off course and into a wall. I changed back into a human and faced my attacker.

A Dhârkalen stood there in a fighting stance with his sword raised. Since I had no sword, I knew that I had to shape shift. I felt my bones change and a surge of panic went through me, this was almost what the mutation was like, but less painful. I seconds, I stood in front of the Dhârkalen as a full grown grizzly bear and his eyes widened then narrowed. He charged just in time for me to swipe my paw at him and bash his head to the side. He went flying into the wall and lay there, motionless. I change into a wolf, trying to draw less suspicion and sprinted for the exit

"Going somewhere?" I heard a familiar rasping voice ask from the shadows to my left, a voice I had become accustomed to in my imprisonment here. Akuro stepped out and walked to stand in front of me. I changed back into a human and got ready to fight him, sword or not.

"I'm leaving, Akuro. I'm going to find people who care about me and with them, I'm going to destroy you." I growled. He laughed and gestured towards the door.

"Be my guest, I imagine you will have a hard time finding a family in the middle of the desert." He sneered. "Or maybe you have one and you just don't know it." I tried to push past him, but he blocked me.

"We can't have you escaping, now can we. That would be bad for our reputation." And with that, he leaped at me. I trembled with rage, I would not let my escape be stopped. I needed to be free, as all things did. I raised my hand, expecting for water to come from somewhere and smash into Akuro, but instead, a ball of icy cobalt energy exploded from my hands and hit Akuro in the face. He tumbled backwards and I took advantage of his daze. I leaped forward and sent a stream of energy into his head, leaving him unconscious. I knew that I couldn't kill him so I sprinted forwards in anticipation of being free, being out in the sun again, being able to run around, unrestrained, being out of that hell and into the light. I ran outside and almost collapsed in agony, the sun blinding me, burning my eyes that had grown accustomed to the dark. I shielded my eyes from the light until they grew used to it. I looked around and saw that Akuro was right, I was in the middle of the desert. There was nothing around besides cacti and sand. The sun was beating down on me and I had no water except for inside cacti. I had no idea where i was going, but I stumbled towards what I thought was the east and kept going.


	9. Chapter 9

Pity

Azele

It was five years after the incident at the Dhârkalen's and Damion, Sebastian, Kris and I were on the run from the Dhârkalen. We didn't really have the numbers to infiltrate their base, so we ran, and when we had to, fought back. If we still had Sterling, we would be able to infiltrate with ease due to his Elemental Manipulation. Sterling. I think I took his death the hardest. I still have nightmares about his death. The sword going through his stomach, him flying backward into the wall and then plummeting to his death. I still want revenge on Akuro, and I will get it, no matter what. I wouldn't stop until I tore his throat, or something along those lines.

We were in east Carlsbad, New Mexico, running from five Dhârkalen warriors, Sebastian was using his Aerokinesis to aid us in our running. The Chihuahuan Desert was only miles away, so we were trying to get away from that to avoid starvation. While we were running, I shot blasts of fire from my hands while Cyrus shot lightning and ice at the enemies, thanks to his Electrokinesis and Cryokinesis. We knew that we were getting tired, but kept running. The Dhârkalen were closing in on us and we were slowing down. Sebastian's air no longer able to aid us. Suddenly, the Dhârkalen veered off to the left in the direction of the desert.

We looked at each other and came to a silent agreement, we would follow them and see where they were going. _Boom!_ A trench was carved into the ground and sprayed dirt everywhere. We ran over and saw that all that was in the trench was black dust, the remnants of a Dhârkalen. We ran in the direction that the Dhârkalen had come from to see what was so powerful and was hitting around the Dhârkalen.

When we got closer to what we assumed was a fight between the Dhârkalen and something else. What we saw was a giant dust cloud where the fight was happening. When the dust cleared, we saw a human with dark purple hair and black, yellow, and grey streaks in it. His bright yellow eyes shone vibrantly with hate and malice. As I watched, he shot fire at the Dhârkalen and used the air to fly around to it's backside, punching it in the back of the head. The ground had wrapped around the Dhârkalens' feet and water was pinning their arms to their sides.

He shot cobalt beams from his hands as he jumped around. When he flew around the "smart" on apparently, the Dhârkalen smashed its head into the man's nose. The man stumbled backwards and the ground and water melted away, freeing the Dhârkalen who immediately picked up their swords and charged the man. They were met with fire flying into their faces and burning them. One snuck up behind the man and swung its sword at the man's neck, but just before it hit, the man disappeared.

He reappeared behind the Dhârkalen looking as surprised as we were, but it was quickly replaced with anger. He morphed into a bear and leaped forward, smashing the first Dhârkalen into black dust and sending a bolt of cobalt energy at the second who flew backward with a surprised look on his face before he plowed a trench identical to the other one. Watery hands rose from the sand and grabbed the remaining two. One got impaled on the other ones sword and dissolved, but the other one stayed, trying in vain to get free.

"You Dhârkalen took everything away from me." The man said with hatred in his eyes. "You took away my mother, my friends, and my family. All of whom I don't even remember anymore due to your

tortures. I will tear you apart starting with you soldiers, slowly working my way to the top, to Akuro. I will find a way to force him out of my mother and destroy his very soul!" He then swung his sword, taking the head off the Dhârkalen and making it explode into dust. He turned to face the one remaining Dhârkalen and glared.

"Take my message to your leader and tell him to prepare for the fight of his life." The "messenger" then scrambled away from the man of his squad's demise and back towards where he came from. The man walked over to us with a quizzical look on his face.

"Are you with the Dhârkalen?" He asked. "'Cause if you are, then I will have to tear you apart." Each of us took a step back and Sebastian quickly said.

"No! We're fighting them, we are part of the Lost Species, like you!" We glanced fearfully at the man, afraid that he wouldn't believe us.

"Ah, fellow Lyridians. It's nice to see that some of us besides me are still alive." He grinned and walked over to us.

"The name's Theodor Stryker." He said, extending his hand for me to shake. I hesitantly shook it and looked at him in awe.

"How did you do all of that stuff, like the blue energy and the teleportation?" I asked. He shook his head.

"I had no idea that I could even teleport before this fight, but the energy I found out when I was escaping the Dhârkalen base." He answered.

"Why don't we team up to destroy the Dhârkalen?" Sebastian asked. Theodor smiled.

"Anything to see them fall to the ground, but when we see Akuro, he is mine and mine alone." Blake said with an edge to his voice.

"What did they do to you to make you hate them so much?" I asked. Theodor stiffened and countered.

"Don't you hate them for killing your friend?" His tone was slightly angry and I felt a wave of sadness hit me at the mention of Sterling.

"How do you know about him?" I questioned, glaring. His face softened and I saw an emotion I had never seen on anyone his age's face before, pain. Pain so great that I doubt that anyone has gone through what he has in his life.

"When you're their prisoner and being tortured every day, you hear things you wish you did not." He stated. "By the way, I never did get you or your companions' names." I turned to look at Sebastian, but I saw that he, Kris, Cyrus, and Damion had left to set up camp.

"My name is Azele, and those are Sebastian, Kris, Cyrus, and Damion." Theodor looked confused and I couldn't help but feel bad for him. He had been prisoner and torture subject for the Dhârkalen and he had lost his memory of anything about his past.

"Your names sound familiar, almost as if I knew you." He frowned and started pacing back and forth.

"Maybe you heard of us while in captivity?" I suggested. He slowly nodded, but didn't look convinced. Then it struck me how much he looked like Sterling. The same facial features, the same height, and the same good looks, but my heart belonged with Sterling, even though he was dead. They could have been twins, besides the fact that Theodor had a different hair and eye color, and that Sterling was … dead. He even looked like the age Sterling would have been if he was still alive. I felt myself getting more and more attracted to him as we talked, almost as if I had known him all my life.

"So," I tried to make small talk. "What's your story, like what did you do before you were captured by the Dhârkalen, and what happened when you did." His face darkened and he glared at me.

"I would rather not talk about it, due to the fact that I don't remember who anyone who was in my life was, and I hate what happened when I was captive, but you're bound to find out eventually." He muttered. "As I said, I don't remember what I did before I was captured, but while I was captive, I was tortured. I was mutated into a form beyond recognition and I felt every second of it. I felt my molecules rearranging themselves into a blob that was me. I only survived because I was a Lyridian. If I wasn't, I would have ended up like the the skeletons there, with two heads and other disgusting mutations. Later, I realised that I was mutated, but not physically. I was mutated in my favor, I got the powers of Ergokinesis, or Energy Manipulation, and Teleportation, as we discovered in that last battle. I used those powers and my other powers to escape from the Dhârkalen. From that day forward, I vowed to destroy the Dhârkalen, no matter what it takes." His story left me shocked. How could he have survived that, much less escape from the prisons that I knew firsthand had a power - suppressing metal coating the bars and he had done that after being _weakened_. I knew that this guy was not someone that you wanted as an enemy.

"Why did you say that you would force Akuro out of your mother?" I asked. He looked at me with a sadness in those bright yellow eyes that should never be shown by anyone his age.

"Exactly what it sounds like." He said sadly. Then it hit me. His mother was Akuro's new host after he had left Damion's body. I couldn't even begin to describe what I would have done if I was in his position, but it probably would be a lot more horrific than destroying the Dârkalen, I already wanted to do that.

"What are Lyridians?" I asked, trying to change the topic off of the obviously sensitive subject of Theodor's life. Theodor looked relieved that we were moving the subject off of his life.

'"Lyridians are the proper name for the Lost Species." He replied. I stared at him in awe and he just sighed.

"Yes I know the Lost Species' real name because Akuro told me." He answered my unasked question. A silence followed and we assumed that the conversation was over, so we walked back to the camp that the boys had set up with an extra tent for Theodor.

When we woke up the next morning, We needed to find the base. Now that we had Blake, we had enough firepower to break in. The only problem was that we had no idea where the base was, as it had moved after our attack on the one in Indiana.

"We could follow my footsteps back to the entrance since that was where I came from." Theodor suggested. None of us could think of anything better, so we started through the Chihuahuan Desert following Theodor's footsteps.

We came to a lump in the sand with Theodor's footsteps coming out of it. There was no entrance, but Theodor leaned forward and started digging at the place where his footsteps ended. When he was done, we entered and were met with a black wall waiting for us.

"I got this." Theodor said calmly. He walked up to the chunk of black rock and put his hand to it. Energy seeped out of his hand and into the rock.

"You might want to take a step back." Theodor requested. We all obliged and he held out his hand and closed it. Blue energy leaped along the rock, charring it, then sunk back in. Cracks appeared in the rock and it neared the breaking point. Just as it was about to crumble, the humming noise emanating from the energy inside the rock stopped, rock crumbled into a symmetrical circle with some left floating in the middle. Suddenly, the energy blew outward, expanding and washing over everything, destroying rock and clearing the way for us to get through. We looked at Theodor in awe and he just sighed.

"You know, not everything I do is awe-inspiring. Come on." He didn't wait for us and just walked through the entrance he had cleared. We had no choice but to follow him, so we walked through the hole after him.

"Hello?" Kris called. I smacked him on the back of the head and covered his mouth. His eyes darted around wildly, as if searching for his attacker.

"You idiot." I scolded him. "We're in the middle of an enemy base and you felt the need to call 'hello?' as loud as you could?" he looked guilty and I couldn't help but feeling a little bad for him. I released him and he started to speak.

"Sorry, I was calling for Theodor, he could be anywhere." He answered. I immediately understood his distrust for Theodor, as we had just met him yesterday, but he should have been smarter.

"You're right, but we just have to look for him on foot." I whispered. They hesitantly obliged and kept walking. Suddenly, something stumbled out of a long hallway and ran right into me. Kris quickly kicked it off and everyone pointed their swords at it. It raised it's hands and I glared at it. We lowered our weapons when we saw that it was Theodor, panting and sweating.

"Dhârkalen...immobilized. Ready to go." He panted with his hands still in the air. I helped him up and we slogged forwards towards the place we had fought Akuro last time. When we reached the pit, a woman was standing there, seemingly waiting.

"Oh god...Mom." I realized with shock that this was his mom, meaning that this was Akuro. I looked over at Blake to see how he was doing, and he was shaking in rage with his eyes glowing silver. I subconsciously took a step backwards from him as did the others, due to the amount of rage pouring off him.

"Guys I got this, go look for other Dhârkalen lurking in the shadows." Slowly, everyone left. First Damion, then Cyrus, Kris and finally Sebastian until I was the only one left.

"Good luck." I whispered and he nodded at me, then I left to follow the others.


	10. Chapter 10

Rage

Theodor

I watched as the others left and turned back to Akuro, shaking with anticipation. He grinned maniacally and drew his weapon. I didn't have one so I just got into a fighting position with my hands curled into fists and waited for him to make the first move. When he realized that I wasn't going to attack first, he leaped. I covered my hands in hardened earth and caught the blade as it cleaved downwards towards my head. His eyes widened as I swept his feet out from under him and punched him in the face.

"This is revenge, Akuro. You took everything away from me and I intend to do the same to you." I growled as he flew backwards into a wall. He quickly recovered and hopped back up to recover his sword. I stalked forwards, winds swirling around me as he tried to advance. With a yell, he hurled his sword like a throwing knife, which curled, almost as if the winds were helping him and sunk into my calf. I screamed in agony as I felt the dark metal sink into my leg. I dropped to one knee and with difficulty, pulled the sword out. Akuro created another sword out of swirling darkness and charged at me again. With the winds no longer aiding me, I had just enough time to raise my new sword for it to block a strike from Akuro. The force of the swing was enough to blast me backwards into the wall. _I will not lose._ I promised myself. I used the sword to force myself up and limped towards Akuro.

"How pathetic." Akuro laughed. "The great Blake Theriault. Defeated by a lowly Dhârk spirit." Rage clouded my vision and I had just enough time for one more rational thought. _Blake_ _Theriault?_ I felt my leg heal, but I couldn't figure out how. I charged at him without thinking, and for some reason, I couldn't! My rage blinded me to anything and I became a machine with only one command, _KILL AKURO._ I would not stop until it was done. I wasn't afraid to die. In fact, I had forgot how to fear years ago, and I didn't feel like feeling it ever again. I would not, could not stop.

I thrust my hand out and four things grabbed Akuro's ankles and wrists. Water grabbed the right wrist and air the left. Fire seared itself into Akuro's skin and somehow held his right ankle while earth shot up and grabbed his left one. He tried in vain to get free of his bonds as I walked forwards. Suddenly, I felt a tingling on the back of my neck. I teleported behind Akuro and a Dhârkalen arrow pierced his shoulder and he shrieked in pain. I shot a burst of cobalt energy at the Dhârlaken who had shot the arrow and he exploded into dust.

Akuro's bonds had disappeared and he swung at me while I was distracted. I knew that I had no time to raise my sword, so I transformed into a wolf and his sword slashed above my head harmlessly. I leaped and sunk my teeth into his non-injured shoulder, hoping to incapacitate him, but he would not go down so easily. I changed back into a human and leaped to the side of Akuro's jabbing blade.

I picked mine back up and rolled to the side as he slashed at my head. He kept slashing and jabbing and I kept rolling until I had a chance to get back up. I could see that Akuro was getting frustrated that he couldn't even get a hit on me and I smiled. _He needs to take him by surprise._ I heard a voice in my head and I jumped, losing my concentration. Using the unseen distraction to his advantage, Akuro swept his sword and left a good size cut on my abdomen. I stumbled back and remembered what the voice had said. I charged at Akuro and right as he was about to parry my strike, I teleported behind him and stabbed Akuro in the back. He fell back onto me caught him.

"Revenge is sweet." I whispered in his ear. I yanked my sword out of his back and he crumpled. I stumbled and a pair of hands caught me.

"Relax Theodor. It's me, Sebastian." With his help, I stood back up and approached Akuro to see if he was still alive. His breathing was shallow and he gripped a little metal container in his left hand. He opened it and I saw a button. My eyes widened when I realized what it was.

"Bomb!" Kris screamed. "Everyone get out!" They wasted no time and scrambled for the exit.

"Wait!" I called to no one in particular. "I need you guys to get my mom out of here when Akuro gets out of her body!" Azele turned around and saw the situation. She ran over just as Akuro pressed the button. A shockwave blasted Azele backwards, but I used the ground to stay rooted to the spot. The ceiling of the 'room' fell in one huge chunk of rock too big for me to control with my Geokinesis. I braced myself for imminent death as the rock fell toward me. As it did, I saw Akuro's true form rise from my mother's body out of the room and laugh.

"Find your brother, Blake Theriault, and you might have a decent chance at defeating me" And with that, he cackled and floated away. I met Azele's wide eyes for the last time and conveyed a silent message. _Get yourself and my mother out of here._ She nodded with tears in her eyes and the rock flattened me into the ground.

I felt myself sink into the ground and I had one thought. _How am I not dead?_ I tried to push myself off the ground and I felt the rock shift on my back, but I was getting up! As I slowly raised the chunk of rock, I saw Azele helping my mother out of the cave. I climbed out of the indentation I had made in the rock and slowly walked to the edge of the huge chunk of earth, walking my hands along it and letting the other side drop slowly. When I got out from under the rock, I almost collapsed from exhaustion, but I had to get out. I slowly limped towards the exit of the cave and into the sunlight. A searing pain in my leg alerted me that my wound had reopened. I saw with my closing eyes my new friends looking at me with awe, then darkness invaded my vision.


	11. Chapter 11

Confidence

Blake

When I woke up, everyone was gone. I was in a bed god knows where and I felt as if my mouth was a desert. I probably couldn't talk, but I got out of bed and walked outside with some difficulty. It was the middle of the night and I could see the stars shining in the sky. There was a dying fire in the middle of six tents, five of which I assumed were occupied. I walked over to the fire and grabbed some logs to keep it going. When it was crackling and smoking, I sat on a rock by the flames.

"Theo- um Blake?" A voice behind me asked. I turned to see Azele tackle me with a hug. I hugged her back kind of awkwardly.

"Do you want to come sit?" I croaked. She unwrapped her arms from around me and sat on the rock next to me. I stared into the fire, thinking about the last battle and the things that Akuro had said.

"How long was I asleep?" I questioned. Her eyes started watering and she slowly turned her head to look at me.

"A year." My eyes widened. I had been asleep for an entire _year_! No wonder Azele had been so excited to see me.

"A _YEAR!_" I exclaimed. She nodded her head sadly.

"After we got out of the base, we set up camp in the nearest forest we could find." She answered. "No Dhârkalen found us, or maybe all of them were working in fixing their base." I thought about this and decided that the latter made more sense.

"So, I guess I'm your best friends brother." I said awkwardly. She looked at me in confusion and I sighed.

"While I was fighting Akuro, He said my name was Blake Theriault and that I needed to search for my brother to defeat him." Her mouth dropped open and tears started streaming down her face.

"Sterling's still alive and he's your brother?" I nodded my head in confirmation and a look of joy spread across her face.

"When are we going to start looking for him?" She asked hopefully.

"Probably tomorrow." I replied. She jumped up and hugged me again before sitting back down with a giddy look on her face. I thought about how this affected me. I had my mother back, a brother, friends, and an uncle. Things were looking good as Azele and I set off to pack for the journey ahead. I knew that, somewhere, Akuro was not dead and was rebuilding his empire, and when he was done, I was ready for him. I would defend my people at any cost, even my life.


End file.
